Our Life Is Our Ministry – Considerations For Workplace Ministry, Part II

Following a conversation with a friend regarding faith in the workplace I realized the considerable amount of thought, prayer and effort I have put into aligning my faith and talents into a lifestyle of ministry over the last 25+years. Upon reflection of my own journey and the things I have learned and continue to learn I thought I would present a 4 part series to share some of my thoughts and experiences with the hope that it will encourage and inspire you to think about how your Christian faith and God-given talents permeates your church, family, vocational and recreational life. This writing is Part 2 in the series, You Have Been Set Apart.

Your Identity In Christ

You Have Been Set Apart

So Then How Must You Live

Practical Applications To Share

Part 2 You have been set apart:

Romans 10:9 says “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved:”

We have been saved from the consequence of our sin and set apart as a child of God.

Romans 8:14-17 – 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Titus 2:11-12 “ For the grace of God has appeared ,bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Do you believe you have been set apart? If you have been set apart by the almighty God do you recognize yourself as a child of the king and fellow heir to the kingdom of God? Do you recognize the power given to us through Christ’s sacrifice and giving of the Holy Spirit? Focus on the Family’s, Truth Project, challenges us with the saying “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?” If you really do then it should have a profound impact in every aspect of your life.

This week I had the opportunity to share with another Christian business owner how God provided for our business in ways nothing short of miraculous. I shared my vision and confidence for the future that involved a belief that God is actively involved in shaping the future. He looked at me as if he did not understand. The whole notion that I would actually believe that God could be involved in my business was foreign to him. We pray that God would be active in resolving problems and shaping the future. We say that we believe that God is active in the circumstance of our life and even acknowledge every once in a while that a near miss was possibly God’s mercy, blessing, or even a miracle. But do we really believe it? Do we march forward with the confidence that God really does have a hand in the circumstances of our life and business? Many of us have claimed our business life as our domain. We take sole responsibility for the results of our hard work, determination and perseverance. God may be there at church on Sunday or maybe there to comfort us during loss or even providing some kind of mysterious “hedge of protection” over our family. But could God have an active involvement in directing the circumstances of our work? It is this faith that makes us different. It is this confidence that lets us make decisions that are not understood by the world and be recognized as different, possibly even as a “light to a dark world”. When you stand on your faith and operate in a chaotic world with confidence that God has a plan (Jer. 29:11), and willingly accept the success and the times of waiting or suffering as ways to grow you and shape you for a better purpose, then you really live. Do you believe that you have been set apart? Do you make decisions that reflect the fact that you have been set apart?

I Thessalonians 3:8 “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord”